August 31: St Aidan

For today's saint we have a more direct connection to the architecture in question. The Irish-born Saint Aiden founded the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne (also known as the Holy Island) as well as other churches in the area. He was also the first Bishop of Lindisfarne. The church of St Aidan, Bamburgh is one of those founded by St Aidan in Northumbria. It is also the place where he died. The present church building is from the 12-13th century (I found conflicting dates) and is a rather shockingly odd conglomeration. The chancel (clearly visible as the separate gabled volume on the right) is by one account the second longest in England.

Photos of the interior are available at the parish church website.

The next photos are from the monastery founded by St Aidan at Lindisfarne. These are actually the ruins of the buildings reconstructed in the 12th century after the original installation fell to Vikings in the 8th century.

August 29: Beheading of John the Baptist

Well what do you know. I wasn't sure I would find churches dedicated to the beheading of John the Baptist, but it appears that there are quite a few. It is a dedication particularly popular in the Orthodox churches.

August 28: St Augustine of Hippo

There are some very nice St Augustine churches in England, but something tells me that would be the wrong one! So we're in France ton make sure we've got St Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church. This is Église Saint-Augustin de Paris, with photos courtesy the Notre Dame School of Architecture library and their collection of creative commons published slides on flickr.

The church dates from 1860-1871, which makes sense with its rather odd relationship to the streets on either side. You get the feeling that the church defers to Haussman's avenues rather than dominating them in the manner of the nearby Opera or La Madeleine. As a result, it is not the frontal church to which we are accustomed in Paris, but a linear experience giving way to the beautiful central domes and this incredible altar.

August 21: Pope St Pius X

Today's saint is Pope St Pius X, an important figure in the liturgical life of the church in the twentieth century. With the prominence of the SSPX recently, I was surprised at how many of the churches dedicated to him are thoroughly modern. But it only illustrates the substantive nature of his work that his principles ring true across more formal lines.Here are two photographs of St Pius X, Hohenstein from 1998. The architect is Peter Bohm.

Timothy Parker shared with us these two images of a church dedicated to St Pius X in Rome. The building's dedication was in 1961 and the architect was Alberto Ressa.

Feast Days: Bernard of Clairvaux (August 20)

This is a major one for architecture: St Bernard is one of the great architectural thinkers in Christian history. The Cistercian monasteries following from his theories established the place of simplicity in church architecture. They are what I point to when trying to explain the concept of "noble simplicity." The Cistercians, the form of Benedictine monasticism founded by St Bernard, continue to build some of the finest churches in Christendom. Collectively they represent a significant example of how to build in the present in continuity with the past. This is tradition without traditionalism.

One of the best examples of contemporary Cistercian architecture is Our Lady of Dallas. While not dedicated to the saint of the day, it illustrates his architectural principles brilliantly and it is always a joy to see.

Feast Days: Hyacinth (17 August)

On the feat of St Hyacinth (according to the 1962 calendar anyway), here are two churches built by the Polish communities in Chicago and Detroit and dedicated to St Hyacinth.

Feast Days: Assumption (15 August)

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption!

I'm going to try something new: posting a church dedicated to one of the day's saints. It may not happen every day, but it will help fill out the building database and perhaps discover some new churches of interest.

Today's is not a new discovery, but it is a good one to start with: the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.